The fact that diesel is becoming less and less popular is no longer a new fact. However, many brands – not to mention most volume brands – have a rich diesel history that has not done them any harm. Volvo, for example, launched the world's first straight-six diesel in 1979 in the Volvo 244 GL D6. If you had to start it at dawn, the whole neighborhood would be awake. By 2001, the (five-cylinder) diesel in the Volvo V70 had not only added some refinement but even the necessary sportiness. From 2008 onwards, the 1.6 E-Drive models excelled in low CO2 (and in sluggishness) and so you can see that you don't even have to go back that far in history to find a time when diesels were promoted and tax-incentivized as the clean alternative. It can turn…
Where did things go wrong for diesel?
To ask the question is to answer it, of course. The love for diesels has especially cooled when the major diesel scandal dominated the news for weeks in 2015. The word “cheating software” broke into the Google charts and it quickly became clear that diesels were not as clean in terms of NOx (nitrogen oxides) as we had thought all along. It would mean a definitive break in the trend, not only for diesels but by extension for all combustion engines… And of course one of the major breakthroughs of the current electrification wave.
Anyway, let's reminisce about the good old diesel days. Are we going to miss the self-igniter in the light of that electrification that, let's be honest, is being forced down our throats with gentle force? We had a conversation about it with Volvo's Head of Strategy & New Cars: Erik Severinson.
EV no more expensive than diesel or petrol
Why did we actually buy so many diesels en masse? Well, mainly because they were more economical, could go further on a single tank, were cleaner (we thought, naively as we were), were cheaper at the pump and were powerful enough to pull loads if necessary… because you already have Have you ever seen a horse trailer behind a 1.8 petrol? For Erik Severinson, electrification can perfectly accommodate that aspect. According to him, technically an EV can carry the same amount of weight on the towbar without any problem, but you will see your battery drain more quickly. Since you might be hoping and already lugging a trailer 5% of the time, that aspect can be perfectly countered with better loading times.
Also in terms of budget, according to Erik Severinson, we don't have to be homesick for diesel or petrol if Volvo only starts building EVs by 2030. If you look at the total TCO or Total Cost of Ownership, an electric Volvo will not be more expensive than a model with a combustion engine. The cost of batteries will decrease (except perhaps when solid state batteries finally make their breakthrough), the maintenance cost will be lower and the cost of energy will not be a stumbling block either. The latter is especially true if you can generate energy yourself with solar panels.
Party or coffee table?
So should we be happy with the end of diesel? Customers have already turned the page because Volvo will only sell 10% diesel models worldwide in 2023. In 2019 that was still half. Only the nostalgic and emotional aspects remain, but to compensate for that, we can always go and see the last XC90 diesel that gets a place in the Volvo museum… And then look at the EX90 with a broad grin. EV to drive home. Party !